The Setting Sun

[Dark Alice]

The augurs brought forward the victims for him to make his final sacrifice before his entry into the Senate Room. It was manifest that the omens were unfavourable. The augurs substituted one animal after another in the attempt to secure a more auspicious forecast. Finally they said that the indications from the gods where unfavourable and that there was plainly some sort of curse hiding in the victims. In disgust, Caesar turned away toward the setting sun, and the augurs interpreted this action still more unfavourably. The assassins were on hand and were pleased at all this.
Nicolaus of Damascus

Darkness falling, shadows cast by prophesies unheeded: black oudh and amber.

Wet: The amber and oude are separate entities. Strong, and very much there. Dry: Unlike our current political climate and poor Caesar, they come to an agreement and blend beautifully. Dry it's ambery oude, dark and slightly seductive. This bottle is worth keeping.

[Jenjin]

I was hoping for something dark, wooded, resinous and rich from the amber, but this is so rough on me. It's metallic at the front for some reason, and then goes almost aquatic and downright masculine. I am not getting any sexy here, at least it's not making me sexy. It's making me smell like cold, metallic sweat when I'm nervous. I'm feeling nervous. Those are big shadows and a glinting blade. Et tu, Brute?

Edited April 7, 2017 by Jenjin

[zankoku_zen]

OMG black oudh and I do not get along. I get amber, and some vicious smelling perfumey toilet cleanser. Except worse.

 

... OFF to wipe this off. It smells rank.

 

ETA: That was worse than Gore Shock for me. OMG. EW.

Edited April 11, 2017 by zankoku_zen

[LizziesLuck]

I don't know what is wrong with me lately. Oudh smells like faeces on me, in almost everything I try it in (except Hidden Purpose Bath Oil, where it is perfection) and yet I blind bottled this? It's like the only words I saw were "black" and "amber" and it just jumped in my cart. Anyway, now that it's here, I am kicking myself and almost don't want to try it!

 

Wet: Wow. Not like poo. That's a good start! It's sweet, earthy, and almost effervescent! Kind of neat, really. Maybe I can do black oudh? There's something spicy about it - almost like cinnamon, but not quite. Not totally sure yet that I LIKE it, but it doesn't smell like diapers and I don't hate it, so we're off to a better start than I expected.

 

Dry: I think I still don't really like oudh much. I like this better than other oudhs I've tried - it's earthy and spicy, and I like that. But there's still something a bit weird about it. I think I am going to try aging it a bit and see what happens.

[Little Bird]

I am not a fan of bpal's oud notes. This doesn't seem to be the fecal smelling one, but it reminds me of Phoenix & Dragon, which had a weird, sharp soapiness (a little PineSol-ish) and rotting mulch scent to it. The amber is vanillic, resinous, and slightly powdery, but the funky earth and soapiness is not good on me at all.

[OctoberGwen]

Mmmm, oudh is generally lovely on my skin and it is really gorgeous with amber! This is deep and dark and has an expensive vibe to it. Sometimes the pared-down blends are surprisingly rich.

 

I will reach for this one often, I think.

[theseagrows]

right off i smell a watery oudh. bpal's white oudh is wonderful on me, but i'm not sure about black oudh, as i recently tried another scent with black oudh and had the same experience. this oudh is strange- watery and sort of like bathroom cleaner. it's a shame because i love oudh, but i think i need to steer clear of this type of oudh in the future.

[saint_gawain]

This feels confused and muddled, on me. From close up it's a sharp resin, and from far away it's a bizarre earthy fecal scent. Amber and I usually get along quite well, so I'm guessing this is the black oudh? At least it's something I know to avoid now.

[Lucchesa]

Sometimes BPAL oudhs are marvelous on me. Sometimes they go all poopy on my skin. This one is in the latter camp, and the beautiful amber can't save it, not even a couple hours into drydown. I may need to avoid black oudh in the future.

[monocainsheresy]

Huh. Sniffed from the decant I expected this to be a poo oudh, and it does do that very briefly, but it quickly changes into a chilled, metallic, opium-reminiscent thing?

This is a weird, cold, amber goop on a very soft bed of woody oudh.

[tinyvulture]

A golden-orange oil.  The scent is dry, warm amber with a men’s cologne vibe.  The oudh sweetens and amplifies the amber, bringing out its spiciness. Smells refined, expensive.  Not super strong, stays close to the skin.